Leonard, the protagonist in Cul-de-sac, believes everyone has a story. It just takes some people longer than others to figure out what their story happens to be. For example, Leonard tells the audience at the Theatre Project that initially he thought his story was about his relationship with his lover - until his lover left him. Then Leonard thought his story might be about his friendship with the 13-year-old girl next door. But Leonard's story turns out to be about something he couldn't have predicted.

For many years Wilson Avenue has been used as a bypass by drivers who want to avoid the traffic light and congestion (at the nearby intersection) of Putty Hill Avenue and Harford Road. Members of St. Ursula church, (located on the corner of Putty Hill Avenue and Harford Road) also continue to use Wilson Avenue as a through street to access church property. Baltimore County's Department of Public works has stated that Wilson Avenue is a cul-de-sac, not a through street. The current 24/7 use of Wilson Avenue as a through street is not acceptable.

WILL SMITH'S reign in Columbia was brief. Last month, residents strained to catch a glimpse of Mr. Smith, star of television and two big-screen blockbusters. He had been hanging around town while filming a movie with Gene Hackman in Baltimore. But no longer is the former Fresh Prince the most sought-after celebrity in the suburban city that Rouse built.Nowadays, Linda R. Tripp is the person everyone wants to see.Thrill-seekers had ventured to Cricket Pass in Columbia's Hickory Ridge even before a Sun story about the sudden media crush there.

Finally. Spies like us. After the series of Jason Bourne movies, in which even an amnesiac can defeat the best the spook world has to offer, and the impossibly hot Kevin Costner as a Russian plant in the U.S. Navy, and the volcanic spy couple of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. After the dweebs, nerds and religious nuts of the 1980s and 1990s — Aldrich Ames, the John Walker clan, Jonathan Pollard and Robert Hanssen — who sold secrets and their vacant souls for millions.

Call it an attack on the cul-de-sac. Call it nostalgia for the grid.The theory behind a new wave of old-style housing developments suddenly in vogue around Maryland is that laying out blocks with sidewalks and houses close together will break the growing isolation of America's cul-de-sacs.Gently curving streets with dead-ends that slow traffic became popular after World War II as symbols of suburban escape from the dehumanizing boxes of the city.Now some suburban planners are holding up the cul-de-sac as a symbol of evil.

Real estate agents love them because they make homes more desirable to potential buyers. Most planners hate them, claiming they clog traffic and don't foster a sense of community. But for the people whose opinions matter the most - the families who live there - the pros of living in cul-de-sacs far outweigh the cons. "We love it," said Kim Hazlett, who lives with her husband and three children in Mount Augustine, a cul-de-sac community in Elkridge. "We have great neighbors and a place where children can play without traffic.

There goes the neighborhood. When the story broke this week about Baltimore County restricting cul-de-sacs, neighbors living on cul-de-sacs rushed to tell one another the horrifying news. One of the very reasons they paid too much for their homes was now the subject of government restriction. What will the county put the squeeze on next - 2 1/2 -car garages, 4 1/2 baths? Hopping mad, cul-de-sackers boldly strayed from their property lines to seek consolation. An emergency neighborhood association might need to be formed.

The porches of Lark Meadow Court are cluttered with children's bicycles, doormats are piled with small, muddy shoes, and yards are forested with basketball hoops. The houses at the end of this Baltimore County cul-de-sac aren't big. Nor are they new. They don't even have garages. But they retain a strong appeal - to couples who have raised families there, and to new buyers who have snatched up the handful of homes that have gone on the market during the past few years. "If we ever moved, I'd love to find a place like this again," said Lynda L. Gillis, a mother of six who moved there with her husband, Ron, when the homes were built 24 years ago. "It's really good for having children."

When the families of Deer Season Run -- normally a quiet cul-de-sac in Columbia -- throw a block party, it's a lollapalooza. From its modest covered-dish beginnings six years ago, the annual event has grown into a daylong extravaganza that starts with a bike parade for the kids and continues on till dark with pony rides, games, a talent show, moon bounce, basketball tournament and, of course, food, food, food. The dishes range from Asian noodle casseroles to cupcakes decorated with Gummi Worms, and just about everything in between.

The Carroll County Department of Public Works has announced road construction projects for this week. For information on the following projects, call the county Bureau of Engineering, 410-386- 2171. Pipe work: Gillis Road from Woodbine Road to Route 27; Hoods Mill Road from Woodbine Road to Kabik Court; Springdale Road from Uniontown Road to the bridge. Waterline installation: Raincliffe Road from Route 32 to Slacks Road. Bridge replacement: Houcksville Road Bridge, from Route 30 to Carroll Street.

SAN DIEGO -- One by one, the neighbors returned to the cul-de-sac at the end of Valladares Drive. The Lyons home: gone. The Chaya home: ashes. The Bostwick home: leveled. The Dela Cruz home: impossible to recognize. "I'm so sorry," Therese Dela Cruz, 24, told each of her neighbors as they came home yesterday afternoon to confirm that the ravenous Southern California wildfires had virtually wiped their entire end of the street off the map. Dela Cruz, who had lived on that street for 17 years, gazed in shock at her family's home, now reduced to charred rubble.

It's not unusual for folks to decorate the outside of their homes at this time of year. Some Anne Arundel County residents even decorate their boats. But Tony Iorio Sr. took holiday house decorating up a notch when he extended his annual Christmas lighting extravaganza to the homes of his Glen Burnie neighbors.

By Victoria A. Brownworth and Victoria A. Brownworth,Special to the Sun | June 19, 2005

You Poor Monster By Michael Kun. MacAdam / Cage, 350 pages, $23. This captivating, annoying, fascinating, frustrating, messy, laugh-out-loud tragedy by Baltimorean Michael Kun is all over the map -- of Baltimore, of the 20th century, of the interior landscape of its narrator, attorney Hamilton Ashe, and his slimy, sublime, seductive client, Sam Shoogey, inveterate tale-spinner and improbable liar. Shoogey is as despicable as he is inviting. Ashe is pendantic -- and full of honest yearning.

Real estate agents love them because they make homes more desirable to potential buyers. Most planners hate them, claiming they clog traffic and don't foster a sense of community. But for the people whose opinions matter the most - the families who live there - the pros of living in cul-de-sacs far outweigh the cons. "We love it," said Kim Hazlett, who lives with her husband and three children in Mount Augustine, a cul-de-sac community in Elkridge. "We have great neighbors and a place where children can play without traffic.

County government, schools, libraries closed for holiday Carroll County government offices will be closed tomorrow for Memorial Day. Northern Landfill and the recycling center will be closed. Carroll County public libraries, schools and senior centers also will be closed tomorrow. Street milling scheduled in Westminster this week The City of Westminster has announced road work projects starting this week. The following streets are scheduled to be milled and overlayed: Madison Street, East Green Street between Washington Road and South Colonial, and South Colonial between East Main Street and the city limits.

Leonard, the protagonist in Cul-de-sac, believes everyone has a story. It just takes some people longer than others to figure out what their story happens to be. For example, Leonard tells the audience at the Theatre Project that initially he thought his story was about his relationship with his lover - until his lover left him. Then Leonard thought his story might be about his friendship with the 13-year-old girl next door. But Leonard's story turns out to be about something he couldn't have predicted.

Gotta dance Dance Baltimore!, the free, all-day event at the Mechanic Theatre begins at 9 a.m. Saturday with dance workshops for all ages and levels of dance experience, lasting until noon. An afternoon performance, beginning at 2 o'clock, will present eight award-winning youth dance companies, including the Morton Street Dance Center and Baltimore Ballet. The day's final event begins at 8 p.m. with performances from adult professional dance ensembles, including Ballet Theatre of Maryland and the Stephanie Powell DanseEnsemble.